Like most Americans, I’ve spent a good chunk of my life drowning in debt. I finally realized the only one who was going to throw me a life preserver was me. Here are five tips I used to get myself out of debt and this old haunted well!

Take responsibility
I made a habit of spending more money than I earned and also refusing to watch where I walk, which led me right into this haunted well. This crippling debt and the broken arm caused by my 200-foot drop into the black earth is on me and only me.

Review your bank statements
When I really looked at my spending habits, I realized I was hemorrhaging money faster than my head was hemorrhaging blood from that drop into this haunted well. When I didn’t record every single cent I had no way of knowing where I stood which is in a haunted well that has held me hostage payable only with the soul of my first-born child.

Build a small emergency fund and redefine “emergency”
Look, emergencies happen. A good goal is to save up $1000 for the unexpected and then start tackling that debt. An emergency is NOT buying a brand new 4K smart TV for your Love Is Blind viewing party! That TV will drag you into debt, the same way the ghost of a 10-year-old greasy-haired girl will crawl out of it and drag you back to her haunted well.  Now THAT’S an emergency!

Stay focused and intense.
You may be working your way out of debt and that old haunted well for a while, but if you make this a priority, you could be debt and terror-free within a year. When you feel your intensity waning, think of how free you’ll feel when you’re no longer shackled by debt or the literal chains holding you down. When you finally do get out, remember the lessons you learned so you can avoid ever getting into this situation again.

Treat yourself!
Once you’re out of debt  AND that old haunted well, treat yourself to a fancy dinner, a luxury vacation, or spruce up your home by hiring a contractor to fill in and professionally seal that old haunted well in perpetuity so that it can never afflict another living soul ever again. You’ve earned it!